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First time hammock camping

I been hanging around the forum for a couple of months, made a simple gather end hammock to try and get my Boy Scouts interested in getting out of tents. Finial got a chance to try it out this last weekend. Used a old slleping bag and an under quit, the over night temp was about 38 degrees. Had the best and warmest night that I can remember, I am done with tents.

Next month Scout project will be for each Scout to build his own hammock.

Thanks to Shug for all the help I got from your Youtube posts and Dereck Hansen for his book "The Ultimate Hang" , you guys made my life alittle easier.

Great to hear that. I am very glad you are happy with this form of camping.

I am very thankful for hammocks too every time I set mine up in cool to cold weather (60° to 30°). I get such a great night sleep.

I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority. - E. B. White (1899 - 1985)

Awesome! I'm glad to hear you had a great night out. I agree: I've slept warmer and more comfortable in a hammock than a tent (I've also slept colder and more miserable too, but those were early on in my hammock relationship)

Sounds like you are a good scout leader. My oldest son was all into scouting, mostly because we had great leaders. He scouted right through high school, and made the Philmont trip, though he never finished his Eagle project.

Then when my youngest son started scouting, we had simply horrible leaders, pompous, rigid fools who were more into the religious/military discipline aspects of scouting, and knew precious little about the outdoors. It seemed like every scout outing was a chance for these incompetent leaders to make a long-winded speech. These "leaders" had a real gift for boring young men out of their minds. When my twelve-year-old son asked to quit scouting, I was truly thrilled because I was ready to quit too!

Recently, as we drove by a place we had camped with the Scouts a few years ago, my son gave me a compliment (I think). He said, "I remember camping there with the Scouts, but that wasn't real camping, not like what I do with you, Dad. You're hard core." It brought a tear to my eye.

I still don't think he's forgiven me for a night canoe excursion earlier this fall on Lake Lila, NY, in the Adirondacks. Something about canoeing at night scared the crap out of him. I think it was the sound of the loons that creeped him out, or it could have been the new moon, and the sheer blackness of the water extending in all directions.

So I like to think that, even though he's no longer Scouting, his dad might be giving him something better. Then again, with the Scout leaders he had, the bar wasn't set very high for me.